About this project

$4,193

pledged of $3,000 goal

73

backers

wacSMASH’d! is an annual dance, film, music, art, and spoken word showcase produced by the World Arts and Cultures Undergraduate Society at UCLA. Year after year, wacSMASH'd! is one of the most highly anticipated events in our department because its content is solely the product of student work. This year's performances will be held February 8th-10th at UCLA's Glorya Kaufman Dance Theater.

While the show doesn’t necessarily have a theme, we looked for a cohesive way to present and synthesize the
overwhelming amount of innovative student ideas that were submitted this year. The artists that were selected for show, their ideas and their unique processes each speak to each other's work and hopefully to the community at large.

wacSMASH’d! is entirely student-produced and tickets are free! Historically, we have been able to fund the show using only on-campus funding, but due to budget cuts and the competitive nature of these campus resources, we need some outside support in order to secure our show venue, Glorya Kaufman Dance Theater, and pay the technical crew that is making the show possible!

Risks and challenges

Artistically, we are taking a big risk with this year's show! Traditionally, WACsmash! has run as a sort of variety show, offering an eclectic view of UCLA's World Arts and Cultures/Dance undergraduates. With wacSMASH'd! 2013 we hope to present a more cohesive and conceptual show than ever before that truly reflects the ways in which we've learned to approach art-making in our unique department.

One way to create cohesion in our show is to give each artist a common challenge to respond to and interact with. This is why we have chosen to re-orient Glorya Kaufman Dance Theater into an opposing view seating arrangement. With a central stage and TWO audiences, all of our artists must really consider how they approach making and presenting work to be viewed from two sides. Singer's cant just stand and sing forward. Filmic elements can no longer be projected as a 'backdrop' to a dance piece. AND, the audience must also re-frame their own expectations of HOW to watch our show!

While the opposing view set-up is slightly more costly, it is crucial to creating a more cohesive and provocative wacSMASH'd! Our artists have been working extremely hard to create work to be viewed in this way and we think it deserves to be seen and experienced as such.

We are finding creative solutions to save money on advertising and poster/program printing. We are using student lighting and set designers. We are applying for more grants! We may even have a bake sale!? We are doing everything in our means to give our peers the chance to present their work in a polished, professional, and innovative environment - and with your support we will be one step closer!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $100 or more
About $100

A thank you in our program, 4 reserved seats to any of our 4 shows, a poster signed by the wacSMASH'd! cast and crew, a DVD of the show and the chance to design a video with a (super cool) artist from the show to be played on an old TV screen as part of our multi-media lobby installation! :)